At the moment of this writing, the Dolphins have 6 tight ends on the roster, but realistically, at most we will carry 4, and even more likely 3. The two guaranteed to stick are the most recent draftees, 2nd RD pick Mike Gesicki and 4th RD pick Durham Smythe. After Gesicki and Smythe, the coaches seem to really like A.J. Derby who was picked up last season after DEN waived him. There is also 5 YR veteran MarQueis Gray, and recent pickup Gavin Escobar who played for the Cowboys for 4 seasons. Also still hanging around is Thomas Duarte, Dolphins 2016 7th RD draft pick. We have better depth at TE than any time in recent memory, and this should be a fun battle to see play out because the 3rd and possibly 4th spots should be really competitive.

Mike Gesicki TE – 6’6″ 250

2018 2nd RD pick, Gesicki is the kind of athletic receiving threat many fans have been craving for more than a decade. 4.54 speed, 41.5″ vertical, 6.76 3 cone, this guy is a fast, agile, explosive athlete. He will be in a tough battle for playing time with his fellow draftee Durham Smythe, because what Gesicki lacks in blocking skills, Smythe has in spades. Gesicki has made it clear he is willing to block and learn how to, and wants to become a more rounded NFL TE.

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Durham Smythe TE – 6’5″ 253

2018 4th RD pick, Smythe was a big part of the success of the run game at Notre Dame. Known for his excellent blocking, toughness and tenacity, he truly helped propel the Irish’s running game. Seldom used as a receiver, just 28 receptions and 244 yards and 6 TD’s in 4 seasons, he definitely has value as a receiver too. Smythe’s blocking skills should enable him playing time as an inline TE and also as a 2nd TE.

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A.J. Derby TE – 6’4″ 255

Derby is a former 6th RD pick of the New England Patriots who was eventually cut by NE and picked up by the Denver Broncos. In 2016 Derby caught 16 passes for 160 yards with the Broncos. Derby played only one season at TE for Arkansas, so he came into the NFL pretty inexperienced. He has good speed, running the 40 in 4.67 at his pro day. In DEN in 2017, Derby caught 19 passes for 228 yards and 2 TD’s. For the Dolphins, Derby appeared in 9 games, catching 2 passes for 20 yards. Not a huge body of work for the soon to be 27 year old TE, either in college or the pros, but the coaches here see potential, although he will have to realize some of that potential in TC and preseason games to stick here.

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MarQeuis Gray TE – 6’4″ 263

Gray has spent the last 2 seasons here in Miami, but has played for Cleveland, Tampa, Buffalo and Minnesota. In 2014, Gray made his NFL tour having a cup of coffee with the Bucs, Vikes and finally settling in with the Bills. The Dolphins picked him up in 2016 and has played appeared in all 32 games, with 7 starts. As a Dolphin, Gray has 15 receptions for 184 yards. Gray has lined up as a 2nd TE and also H-back/FB, and has shown decent blocking ability.

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Gavin Escobar TE – 6’6″ 260

Escobar played 5 seasons for the Cowboys and although he didn’t get a ton of opportunities, he certainly made the most of them. Escobar caught a total of 30 passes for 333 yards and 8 TD’s. Not a blocker, he’s definitely a receiving TE. Escobar has long arms and big hands, and despite the fact he doesn’t have good speed, he has good reliable hands and with 8 TD’s in only 30 receptions, he makes them count. I think Escobar and Derby are will be in a tight competition to claim what may be the last 1 or 2 posts on the roster at TE.

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Thomas Duarte TE – 6’2″ 244

Duarte has spent the last 2 seasons on the PS after being drafted in the 7th RD of the 2016 NFL draft by the Dolphins. Duarte was a WR at UCLA who has bulked up with the hopes of being a move TE in the NFL. Not a blocker, but a smooth, athletic route runner who really came on his senior season at UCLA, catching 53 passes for 872 yards and 10 TD’s. The Dolphins like Duarte, they have kept him around for 2 seasons on the PS, and I think his best bet to remain with the team would most likely be in that capacity again. He will have a hard time beating out veterans Escobar and Derby, but a very strong showing could give him an outside shot.

1,170 Responses to Camp Battles – TE

Rob, I never said anything about QBR (I don’t like QBR because I don’t like ESPN and don’t know what goes into QBR, I understand Passer Rating which has been around for ever, so I follow passer rating, anyway I digress) I never said anything about QBR I said wins are not a quarterback stat. I will argue that in the pit of death. Only stupid fools would attribute things beyond a quarterbacks control (like how the defense or special teams perform) to a quarterback. WINS are a team stat. PERIOD NO ARGUMENT UNLESS IS A FUCKING STUPID ONE.

Is there a correlation between QBR or percentage of runs to wins? Yes I agree there is. but is a correlation not a underlying “truth”

Teams with a QB who’s QBR is lower than the opponents have lost to teams with a QB that has a lower QBR. (often enough to prove my point and disprove yours) THAT is a fact.

check the end of each year, who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t and relate that to passer rating, you may be surprised at what you find. at least 80 percent of the qb’s in the top 10 are in the playoffs and there is 12 spots.
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If you are saying you have a better chance to make the playoffs with high quality play from the QB, I agree with you. But it isn’t a requirement to have a top 5 or even top 10 QB. I just listed 16 very average QBs that took their teams to the SB. Tanny might be able to take us there… or maybe not. But passer rating isn’t the be all-end all.

Only 5 teams can have a QB in the top 5. Only 10 teams can have a QB in the top 10. If you don’t have one of those, do you just give up every year, waste year after year trying to get that one guy or do you try to put together a TEAM that can get you there.

I guess you keep drafting a QB in the first round every year until your first round QB is a “winner” his first season? Or maybe just until he passes the “eye test”, but what if he passes the “eye test” one year and doesn’t the next year? Do you start drafting a QB in the first again just in case?

what are the passer ratings every year in the SB, it’s been around 50 years and yes you’ve been able to pull some rabbits out of your kool-aide leaking hat but for the most part the SB contenders have PR’s in the high 90’s to low 100’s, you rarely see a QB with a low passer rating in the SB and if you do they have a very stout running game such as Plunkett had

And some QBS still had average ratings in their SB years, but had excellent defenses, or like you said, good running games. Can’t we do that too? Why can’t our average QB benefit from a good TEAM around him to win a SB? Why do we HAVE to look at passer rating as the be all end all of wins?

QBR includes things like Win Probability and Expected Points and Clutch Index

Fuck you! Clutch index!

The final major step is to look at how “clutch” the situation was when creating expected points. A normal play has a clutch index of 1.0. For instance, first-and-goal from the 10-yard line in a tie game at the start of the second quarter has a clutch index of almost exactly 1.0. A more clutch situation, one late in the game when the game is close — the same situation as above but midway through the fourth quarter, for example — has a clutch index of about 2.0. Maximum clutch indices are about 3.0, and minimum indices are about 0.3.

arbitrary! If a QB throws 6 TD in the first half and doesn’t have to do anything in the 2nd half but hand the ball off and punt did he still not throw 6 TD’s in a half?

Rockphin says:
June 19, 2018 at 3:30 pm
, I understand Passer Rating which has been around for ever, so I follow passer rating, anyway I digress) I never said anything about QBR I said wins are not a quarterback stat. I will argue that in the pit of death. Only stupid fools would attribute things beyond a quarterbacks control (like how the defense or special teams perform) to a quarterback. WINS are a team stat. PERIOD
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first of all I’m talking about Passer Rating i’m just calling it QBR, this has nothing to do with ESPN. I think when an offense controls the ball it helps the defense as they are rested and pumped most of the time, a good offense is a good defense.

So back to your statement, if not having a good passer rating has no bearing on wins and losses…Then how do you explain thsi???

I didn’t say it has no bearing I have ONLY said that wins are not a QB stat. Wins and losses cannot be SOLELY attributed to the QB. There is a correlation but it is not a hard and fast one that can be easily quantified. My example above still stands. Teams with a Passer rating higher than the opponents passer rating have won. And OFTEN. The Defense and special teams see to that.

Thats what we’ve been trying to say it’s a team game. With the 9 out of 10 QBs at the top of the ratings, some are because the QB is great and others are a product of the team being good, as in a game mamager. There’s more than one way to win.

This long distance dedication is from a pair of Dolphins who wish to give a shout out to Fins fans. Minkah Fitzpatrick, being the good teammate, went to Ryan Tannehill asking if he “wanted some of this”. Ryan said hell yes, so here is their dedication request. Crank it up:

ocalarob says:
June 19, 2018 at 3:56 pm
I disagree Passer rating is soley attributed to the QB so winning goes hand in hand with his play.

You can disagree all you want, it doesn’t change reality. LOL

Tom Brady is 23-13 against the Dolphins. In YOUR reality he would be 36 – 0

Wins are not a QB stat they are a team stat. Repeat it with me;
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…
Wins are a team stat…

Was once part of the local crew who put up the stage that B.B. King performed on for an outdoor concert. His advance roadie folks who were directing us made it sound like he was the best guy you could ever meet in your life. Guess that makes me two degrees of separation from BB 🙂

It has to be a team stat, or at least an offensive stat. Unless you think QBs can throw and catch the ball, and protect themselves to give themselves time to throw. It’s a stat made up of multiple moving parts.

When does fins training camp open? I can’t wait for these guys to get the pads on. July/August is my favorite time of the NFL season. We get to see some real football, and the team hasn’t had a chance to underwhelm and crush our hopes yet, lol.

`I know this Mr Tim, I also know there are a few certain stats that relate directly to who’s playing winning football and who’s not and one of those are passer rating stats another important stat would be number of running plays.

if those stats are favorable then the rest follow such as good defense.

if you cant run the ball and your QB sucks your defense will be on the field way too long and collapse and vice versa.

It all trickles down.

too separate from being mediocre to even above avg to being a title contender Tannehill will have to produce a passer rating above 100.

Tim – This is what I’ve been saying. The Mets can really get a good start on rebuilding the team. I think it’s their best move. Then you keep trading pieces and adding young talent. It could make watching the games exciting again next season and beyond

Heyy yeah, and they pitched into extra innings too if necessary. It was a different game. I also think that’s a big part of the reason there are more strikeouts in the game, hitters face 3-5 pitchers a night, all different styles, and a mix of lefties and righties. Tough to do that than face the same pitcher 4-5 times in a game

Same with goalies in hockey. If your team doesn’t fore or back check well and your defensemen are allowing easy access into the zone a goalie can only stop so many shots. One of the reasons many hockey fans sans Devils fans thought
Marty Brodeur was overrated is because the Devils were so good in those areas he didn’t face that many scoring chances.

Team play is huge rather than relying on one or a handful of guys to carry you.

In the offseason why did so many of us say we need to upgrade the OL, get better at TE, need a better pass rush, LB play and the secondary to take the next step, if all we need is a QB with a high PR and a RB to strike fear into all? LOL

I’m not going to say all of what we did this offseason and in the past couple of years since Gase has been here will pan out the way we hope, it rarely does. But we did address all of that and we’re trending that way.

You won’t miss Landry with Amendola, Wilson and Grant working the screens and the backs being more involved in the passing game like once Ajayi was traded. Gase knows he can get Landry type yards in multiple ways. It wasn’t about it’s Landry’s fault we used him that way, it’s about paying him elite WR money to do what he does.

Now add some new TE dynamics. We all wanted a TE who can open up the field and add a new dynamic. That turned into how is he as a blocker? The same with Jerome Baker, we need a fast modern day LB who can run and cover. We add him and it’s I’m not sure he can be an every down player, he’s kind of small at 6-1 229. Nope never see a LB that size in the NFL these days. LOL

We had one of the top 5 prospects in this draft fall to us in Minkah Fitzpatrick at #11, but now we worry about how we’ll deal with superior depth at Safety?

but these are the facts. Do you really think this is coincidence?
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I would like to point out, apropos of nothing, that RT’s rating and the team record in 2016 were 94 point something and 10-6. Not sure whose argument that supports.

Now just imagine IF our O-Line is improved… if Drake can get past the LOS before getting contacted (as opposed to getting contacted in the backfield as much as he did last season), he’s going to be even DEADLIER this year.

Another video taking a HOT, steamy $#!t on Ajayi from the start… as subtle as it was.

Look, our running game is going to be contingent upon our O-Line. And if we can get opposing Defenses to play ‘8 in-the-box’ as Ajayi had them playing against us, Ryan Tannehill is going to ROCK this year!!!

Too many take a $#!t on Ajayi AND our surprising O-Line of ’16… don’t think that Tannehill did it all alone… it’s a TEAM game!

M13, yeah you say it over and over but leave out guys like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Landon Collins and Minkah Fitzpatrick who may be the best of all of them like they don’t exist from your Saban/Alabama bias.

But many of your former prospects you love who are no longer in the league and never amounted to anything are still prominent? You’re not a pro scout no matter how much smoke OD blows up your ass. Be realistic and stop pretending. We’re all amateurs here.

None of us are in the room or on the field with any of these players.

Sorry to be so harsh, just tired of being told things as fact that don’t add up.

No matter how many times people say PFF is not a factor you still post it like it’s significant. It’s not. Who does the grading?

Pittsburgh threw AB 155 passes? Holy shit. That’s way too much. Don’t they know you can’t target any one receiver that much because it’s bad for the offense? Shame on AB for letting all those balls get thrown his way. He should be traded, damn lead dog! 🤔🤭😏😆

You don’t trade that guy for nothing, unless he becomes a Dick Diva!!!
And even then youd like to make it work in order to keeps the league’s best receiver (arguably) in a conversation that 14 comes nowhere near being a part of!!!

Rob, no need to worry. The game you referenced, here are Drake’s runs. He only had negative yardage a couple of times, he converted 2 of 2 in 3rd and short, got at least 4 yards on 4 out of 6 1st down runs, broke a big run of 32 and a 2nd big run of 11 and averaged 5.4 per carry.

See, the good thing about a RB like Drake is if you can get 3 or 4 yards on a good percentage of your 1st down plays (like Drake does), it really opens up the offense on 2nd down. Also having that back you can count on to pick up the 3rd and shorts makes it a lot easier on the offense.

It’s using the run game to control the game and impose your will. Very important.

Here is Ajayi against the Jets week 3 last year. Ajayi had 4 negative runs (-2,-2,-2,-5), 4+ yards on 2 of 4 1st downs, had no big runs (didn’t get more than 4 on any carry), and averaged a measly 1.5 yds a carry.

Here is Ajayi vs Baltimore. 4+ yds on only 1 of 7 1st down runs, with 3 negative 1st down runs, two 1 yd runs, and 1 no gain. He had 5 total negative runs, one big carry (21 yds) and averaged a paltry 1.8 yds a carry.
That is 6 drives that Ajayi alone was responsible for putting us behind the 8 ball in down and distance on 2nd down.

I guess one of the points of all this (along with proving that Ajayi’s production was awful for us at times last year) is to say that pointing at a play or two or three that Drake had a negative run is less than meaningless because ALL backs have negative runs. Why be concerned over it with Drake? It happened at a higher rate with Ajayi last year, but he was still an acceptable back.

It seems to be the impossible task. But we escaped OTAs and mini camps in good team health. Fingers crossed for training camp and preseason. This honestly could be the best line we’ve had since the wildcat years.

I know Drake made some great runs, he has great speed and will light it up in 2018, he’s just not a btwn the tackles RB IMO, you can’t count on him to pick up the tough yards from what i saw of his limited play last season. sure if he gets in the open he’s gone but he’s not going to drag defenders for minimal gains of 4 yards, when he gets hit he goes down, he had some huge losses in the KC game

Here is Ajayi against the Jets week 3 last year. Ajayi had 4 negative runs (-2,-2,-2,-5), 4+ yards on 2 of 4 1st downs, had no big runs (didn’t get more than 4 on any carry), and averaged a measly 1.5 yds a carry.

What’s funny is everyone wants Miami to win, Wins vs Losses. we want more wins than losses right?
run the ball……have a good passer rating.
and when i show these key points in what it takes to win which i haven’t seen much from this team in both departments… I get hit over the head with everyones keyboard.

i think i’m just going to revert to posting cheer leaders…or my fav music…. like some others around here do. it just seems safer.

kv13,
Laundry was OUR best offensive player and, like it or not, he was one of the best at what he does. But, I was just poking fun at how conversations go around here sometimes…. Like blaming a wide receiver for how many times the ball is thrown his way. I’m fine with them letting laundry go.

That is EVERY Carry by Drake. The HUGE LOSSES were one for a loss of -1 yard and another for a loss of -6 yards. Go and watch the highlight on NFL . com of that play on the play by play chart. The guard fell down and let a guy into the backfield who almost took the hand off.

You just make shit up man to support your irrational / unwarranted dislike of the guy. Look at the list of plays above. Up the middle 7yds, up the middle 4yds, up the middle 12yds, up the middle 6 yds, etc, etc, etc.

YOU ARE WRONG AGAIN. Or are you just mistaken again and thinking of a different game?

Rob, get some glasses because you didn’t see what you thought you saw. It just didn’t happen. That is reality. Jay Ajayi lost more yards on first down than Drake ever has. I don’t need to cherry pick to prove it. 48% of his runs while with miami went for ONE YARD OR LESS.

But that is just a meaningless stat if you want to live in your own alternative fact universe.

and that happened due to the D keying on him, they don’t key on Drake, they don’t stack the box on drake, they will live with what drake can do because if they get their hands on him he will go down unlike ajayi.
so the end result is they use the extra resources to guard against the other off factors, other than drake, shutting down our off output.

and that happened due to the D keying on him, they don’t key on Drake, they don’t stack the box on drake

Really? You are stretching to the point of breaking here. go back and look at the play you posted. They had 9 guys within 5 yards or the line They must have been scared of Drake after he was AVERAGING 6.77 yards per carry up to that point in the game (5 out of 7 of those runs between the tackles) ….. you are wrong again.